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PRES.   HOPKINS'S   SERMON 


JQ-o 


2-0 


FAITH.    PHILOSOPHY    AND    REASON. 


rfcX^>  'U^tC'i^ 


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JTaitl),    }I)l)Uo0opl)£,   anb   Hmson. 


BACCALAUREATE  SERMON, 


DELIVERED   AT 


WILLIAMSTOWN,  MS 


AUGUST  18,  1850. 


BY    MARK    HOPKINS,   D.  D. 

President  of  JUHtlltams  College. 


BOS  TON: 

PRESS  OF  T.  R.  MARVIN,  24  CONGRESS  STREET. 
185  0. 


B  and  opinions  have  been  communicated  to  me,  which  have  encour- 
aged the  hope  that  the  publication  of  the  following  Discourse  may  be  useful 
at  the  present  time.     It  would  have  been  published  sooner,  but  the  nature 
■ad  limit-*  of  the  occasion  on  which  it  was  delivered  precluded  as  full  a 
■    ]h lints,  particularly  if  objections  were  to  be  obviated, 
Jd  In-  desirable  ;  and  I  have  hoped  to  find  time,  either  to  expand,  or 
■I  and  publish  it  in  a  dim-rent  form.     Not  having  been  able  to  do 
it  WM  delivered.    That  it  may  add  something  to 
i -xpn-ssion  on  this  subject ;  that  it 
may  lend  to  place  Faith,  as  one  of  the  great  natural  principles  of  action, 
it  belongs ;   and  especially,  that  it  may  strengthen  the  faith  of  some 
humbl-  ;'  the  desire  and  prayer  of  the  Author. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850, 

bi   T.  EL  hUxrar, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


SERMON. 


HEBREWS,    xi.    33,    34. 

WHO  THROUGH  FAITH  SUBDUED  KINGDOMS,  WROUGHT  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  OBTAINED 

PROMISES,  STOPPED  THE  MOUTHS  OF  LIONS,  QUENCHED  THE  VIOLENCE  OF  FIRE, 

0 
ESCAPED  THE  EDGE  OF  THE  SWORD,  OUT  OF   WEAKNESS   WERE    MADE    STRONG, 

WAXED  VALLANT  IN  FIGHT,  TURNED  TO  FLIGHT  THE  ARMIES  OF  THE  ALIENS. 

The  word  '  hero,'  does  not  occur  in  the  Bible. 
Nothing  can  be  more  opposite  to  its  spirit  than  that 
self-sufficiency,  and  recklessness  of  human  rights 
and  sufferings,  which  are  commonly  associated  with 
this  term.  Still,  there  are  no  higher  examples  of  a 
true  heroism  than  the  Bible  presents.  In  the  text, 
and  the  chapter  from  which  it  is  taken,  we  have  an 
account  of  great  and  heroic  exploits,  performed  in- 
deed in  ancient  times,  but  such  as  we  should  be 
glad  to  see  emulated,  such  as  ought  to  be  emulated 
in  the  midst  of  the  light  and  advantages  of  our  day. 
We  have  a  right  to  expect,  as  the  stream  of  time 
rolls  on  and  pours  its  accumulated  wealth  at  the  feet 
of  new  generations,  that  there  shall  not  only  be  an 
increase  in  the  knowledge  of  nature,  but  that  there 
shall  be,  at  least,  no  failure  in  the  breadth  and  com- 
pass of  a  comprehensive  wisdom,  or  in  the  might  of 
a  true  manhood  that  is  ready  to  do  and  to  suffer  in 
the  cause  of  humanity  and  of  God. 


lint  not  <>m!\  ma\  in  expect  this;  it  is  also  inti- 
mated bj  the  Apostle  that  n  i-  expected  and 
watched  tor  by  those  who  have  gone  before  us. 
Ilr  represents,  in  the  opening  <>f  the  succeeding 
chapter,  those  worthies  and  reterans  who  had  hn- 
ished  their  own  course,  as  gathered  into  a  ^im 
assembly,  forming  "  a  cloud  of  witnesses,"  and 
watching  with  intense  interest  the  hearing  of  those 
who  follow  them.  "  Seeing  then,"'  says  he,  "  that 
we  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of 
witnesses,  let  US  rim  with  patience  the  race  that  is 
set  before  us." 

This  race,  my  friends  of  the  Graduating  Class,  I 
would  now  invite  you  to  run.  You  are  especially 
called  upon  to  emulate  the  example  of  the  great 
and  good, — to  do  deeds  that  shall  not  only  cause 
joy  on  earth,  but  shall  send  a  new  thrill  through  the 
assembly  of  those  who  have  jjone  before  you. 

lint  if  \on  air  to  do  the  deeds  of  these  ancient 
hiroi  s  sou  must  he  girded  with  the  same  armor,  be 
controlled  bj  the  same  principle,  must  have  the 
same    prize    in    yoUI    eye,    and    be    sustained  by  the 

same  power.  Fruitful  as  the  nineteenth  eenturv 
h.is  been  in  inventions,  it  yet  rurnishes  none  for 
making  great  and  good  men.  The  great  tree  must 
grow  now  from  the  same  earth,  ami  under  the  same 
sun.  ami  l>\  the  s.uur  processes  and  ministrations  of 

di  w  and  i.iiu  and  sjomis.  as  the  great  tree  of  old  ; 
and  SO,  DOW,  BS  of  did.  must  the  lite  and  might  of 
trm  greatness  be  drawn  from  the  same  fountains, 
and  work  themselves  out  bj  essentially  the  same 
processes.     Were  these  deeds  performed  of  old  only 


by  faith  ?  then  only  by  faith  will  they  be  performed 
now. 

What  then  is  Faith  ?  Avowed  by  Christianity  as 
its  peculiar  principle  of  action,  ridiculed  by  the 
philosophers,  is  it  indeed  some  new,  or  peculiar,  or 
blind,  or  fanatical  principle  ?  Or  is  it  one  of  those 
grand  and  universal  principles  which  underlie  human 
action,  which  are  necessary  to  true  heroism,  to  a 
right  philosophy,  to  individual  and  social  perfection, 
and  which  must,  in  the  progress  of  light,  come  more 
and  more  into  distinct  recognition  and  general  ac- 
knowledgement ? 

Whatever  faith  may  be,  it  must  be  conceded  that 
the  accounts  given  of  it  by  its  advocates  have  been 
neither  uniform  nor  consistent.  It  has  been  said  to 
be  simple  belief,  founded  on  evidence,  and  not  dif- 
fering from  any  other  belief;  to  be  belief  in  testi- 
mony ;  to  be  belief  for  reasons  not  derived  from 
intrinsic  evidence ;  to  be  a  belief  on  the  ground  of 
probable,  as  distinguished  from  demonstrative  evi- 
dence ;  to  be  a  belief  in  things  invisible  and  super- 
natural ;  to  be  a  trust ;  and  more  recently,  and 
transcendentally,  it  has  been  said  to  be  an  organ  of 
the  soul  by  which  it  becomes  cognizant  of  the  invis- 
ible and  the  supernatural. 

To  some,  this  diversity  of  statement  may  seem 
to  indicate  that  there  can  be  nothing  in  faith  very 
definite  or  important.  To  me  it  indicates  the  re- 
verse ;  for  while  men  do  certainly  differ  about 
things  which  are  indefinite  and  obscure,  yet  it  is 
also  found  that  they  come  latest,  if  at  all,  to  the 
investigation  of  those  principles  which  are  the  most 


intimate  and  i  ■■nniinl.  and  that  the)  am  no  where 
less  liki  1  \  to  come  to  .1  uniform  and  satisfactory  re- 
buIl  As  in  matbematicf  the  truth-  that  are  most 
m  .11I  %  intuitive  are  the  last  and  the  meet  difficult  to 
be  demonstrated,  s«>   here  tin-  principles  and  pro- 

-  which  are  go  1  isantia]  th.tt  the)  seem  in- 
woven  into  our  being,  an  the  last  to  be  investigated 
;ui(l  the  most  difficult  to  be  satisfactorily  explained. 
Men  are  no  better  agreed  what  reason  is,  or  what 
persona]  i <  1 « •  1 1 1 it \  consists  in,  than  the)  arc  what 
faith  is;  and  ret,  .1-  those  who  think  wrongl)  on 
these  subjects  may,  and  do,  exercise  their  reason, 
nnil  continue  the  same  persons  precisely  a-  the) 
would  it  the)  thought  rightly,  bo  those  who  make 
different  statements  in  regard  to  faith,  all  exercise 
faith,  .mil  receive  the  benefits  of  faith,  in  precisely 
tin*  same  wa) • 

That  the  term  faith  ma)  not  l»e  used  loosely  and 
popularly,  to  designate  the  ideas  just  mentioned,  and 
;iImi  others,  I  would  imt  sa)  ;  hut  the  inquiry  now 
is,  What,  genetically,  and  specifically,  is  that  Faith 
upon  which  the  Bible  insists  as  essential  to  salva- 
tion, and  l>\  which  the  great  deeds  it  records  were 
performed?  Can  this  faith  be  so  defined  that  our 
idea  of  it  shall  be  distinct,  that  it  shall  harmonize 
with  philosoph)  and  with  reason,  and  that  it  shall 
he  adequate  to  the  great  offices  assigned  to  it  in  the 
Bible? 

I  propose  in  the  following  Discourse,  first,  to 
answer  these  inquiries;  and  secondly,  to  speak  of 
the  offices  of  faith — more  particularly,   as  adapted 


to  this  occasion,  of  its  office  as  a  principle  of  action 
to  be  adopted  by  every  young  man. 

The  definition  of  faith  which  I  would  propose, 
and  which  seems  to  me  to  meet  the  conditions  just 
mentioned,  is,  that  it  is  confidence  in  a  personal 
being.  Faith  lives  and  moves  and  has  its  being 
only  in  the  region  of  personality.  Whatever  we 
may  believe  respecting  things  visible  or  invisible,  on 
any  other  ground  than  our  confidence  in  a  personal 
being,  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  faith.  It  implies 
the  recognition  of  a  moral  nature,  and  a  conviction 
of  the  trust-worthiness  of  the  being  possessed  of 
such  a  nature. 

This  definition  of  faith  implies  a  division  of  this 
universe  into  two  departments,  that  of  persons,  and 
that  of  things  ;  and,  in  connection  with  this  division, 
will  give  us  a  clear  distinction  between  philosophy 
and  faith.  The  sphere  of  faith  is  the  region  of  per- 
sonality, that  of  philosophy  is  the  region  of  things. 
Each  of  these  spheres  addresses  our  sensibilities  and 
calls  for  investigation,  but  in  accordance  with  its 
own  nature  and  laws. 

By  things,  are  called  forth,  in  the  region  of  sensi- 
bility, the  emotions  of  beauty,  of  sublimity,  and  of 
admiration  ;  by  persons,  in  addition  to  these,  confi- 
dence, affection,  passion. 

In  her  investigations  in  the  department  of  things, 
philosophy  is  concerned,  not  with  all  knowledge, 
but  chiefly  with  resemblances  in  those  things  that 
exist  together,  and  with  uniformities  in  those  that 
exist  in  succession.  These  are  the  basis  of  all  clas- 
sification, of  all  inductive    reasoning  —  and    it    is 


8 
through  these  that   \\<  get  .ill  our  ideas  of  physical 

order  ;iinl  law  . 

Philosophy  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  things  as 
they  exist  separatelj .  This  being  given,  she  neglects 
.ill  individual  peculiarities,  and  proceeds  i « »  group 
them  according  to  their  resemblances,  and  to  give 
them  collective  names.  In  doing  this  she  acquires 
for  man  power,  and  practical  guidance,  because  a 
mblance  in  externa]  signs  denotes  a  resemblance 
in  essential  properties.  This  gives  value  to  the  signs 
of  nature,  and  shows  that  in  the  department  of 
resemblances  she  is  constituted  <>n  the  basis  ol 
truth. 

But  not  "nl\  does  philosophy  notice  resemblances 
in  beings  and  phenomena  that  exist  together,  she 
also  notices  uniformity  of  succession ;  and  is  thus 
enabled  to  foretell  the  future,  and  toact  wisehj  with 
reference  to  it.  She  believes  in  a  uniformity  of  suc- 
cession  according  to  the  order  that  is  established. 
she  investigates  the  laws  in  accordance  with  which 
ilii>  succession  moves  on.  As  among  things  that 
exist  together,  she  know  s  nothing  of  individual  pecu- 
liarities,  bo  in  phenomena  that  exist  in  succession, 
she  knows  nothing  of  exceptions,  and  admits  with 
great  reluctance,  or  not  at  all,  that  such  exceptions 
re;ill\  exist 

Such,  except  as  she  may  be  said  to  investigate 
eauses,  is  philosophy.  She  stands  in  the  centre  of 
things  that  co-exist,  and  passes  onward  and  outward 
to  the  farthest  star,  stepping  more  or  less  firmly  as 
the  resemblances,  by  which  alone  she  proceeds,  are 
more  or  less  perfect ;  she  stands  at  the  present  point 


in  things  that  succeed  each  other,  and  binds  the 
future  to  the  past  by  what  she  conceives  to  be  an 
inexorable  law. 

But  it  may  be  inquired  whether  philosophy  does  not 
extend  to  the  domain  of  mind.  Yes,  so  far  as  mind 
is  a  thing,  and  hence  under  the  law  of  an  absolute 
uniformity,  but  no  farther.  The  moment  a  personal 
being  is  placed  under  that  law  of  nature  by  which 
that  which  follows  is  necessarily  the  product  of  that 
which  precedes,  personality  ceases,  and  you  have  mere 
nature — a  thing.  The  very  idea  of  that  necessary 
uniformity  upon  which  philosophy  is  based,  precludes 
that  of  personality.  It  also  precludes  the  idea  of 
faith  ;  for  whatever  we  may  believe  without  the  range 
of  personality,  and  on  whatever  grounds,  there  is 
always  wanting  that  element  which  enters  into  faith 
by  which  a  person  may  be  said  not  only  to  have 
confidence,  but  to  be  confiding. 

The  sphere  of  faith,  as  opposed  to  that  of  philos- 
ophy, is,  as  I  have  said,  the  region  of  personality. 
Here  we  find  affections,  and  a  moral  nature,  and  a 
free-will.  In  the  sphere  of  things  we  deal  with 
similarities,  and  uniformities  of  succession,  and  laws, 
and  do  not  necessarily  know  anything  back  of  these. 
We  may  indeed  refer  them  all  to  a  personal  agent, 
but  for  the  grounds  of  our  belief  we  are  not  necessi- 
tated to  go  beyond  the  uniformities  and  laws  them- 
selves. We  have  in  these  nothing  of  the  great 
element  of  character.  But  in  our  dealings  with 
personal  beings,  whatever  ground  we  may  have  for 
belief,  either  of  what  they  say,  or  of  what  they 
will  do,  must  be  found,   not  in  any  law,  not   in  any 

2 


10 

unvarying  uniformiu  conceived  of  as  necessary,  but 
in  the  character  of  the  personal  beiniz:.  This  is  an 
element  entirely  different  from  any  found  in  the 
spin  iv  of  philosophy,  and  it  is  upon  this  that  faith 
axes.  This  is  the  grand  peculiarity  of  faith;  it  is 
confidence  in  a  persona]  being.  Like  belief,  it  ad- 
mits of  degrees.  As  the  highest  form  of  belief  is 
certainty,  bo  the  highest  form  of  faith  is  such  a  con- 
fidence  in  the  character  of  any  being  as  will  lead 
us  to  believe  whatever  he  maj  sa}  because  he  says 
it,  and  to  commit  implicitly  into  his  hands  every  in- 
i.  n  Bt  of  »>ur  being. 

And  as  that  without  us  which  calls  forth  faith,  is 
so  different  from  that  which  is  the  basis  of  philoso- 
phy 90  it  ma)  be  remarked,  is  that  within  us  which 
is  brought  into  action  also  different.  Doubtless  the 
nature  of  man  is  preconformed  to  the  state  into 
which  he  is  to  come,  and  as  he  naturalK  conforms 
himself  t<»  the  uniformities  of  nature,  so  does  he, 
though  l>\  .i  different  principle,  naturally  confide  in 
those  to  whom  his  being  is  intrusted.  It  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  that  feeling  of  confidence  with 
which  the  infant  looks  up  into  the  eye  of  its  mother, 
with  which  the  mw  formed  angel  must  look  up  to 
his  God,  is  the  s.iiue  ,is  that  l>\  which  he  is  adapted 
to  the  blind  and  unvarying  movements  of  nature. 
It  is  not  to  he  supposed.  ,is  these  two  great  spheres 
of  persons  and  of  things  are  so  distinct,  that  our  na- 
ture should  not  he  equallj  preconformed  to  each. 

If  the  spin  res  of  faith  and  of  philosophy  be  thus 
distinct,  it  will  be  obvious  that  they  can  come  into 
conflict  onl\  at  a  single  point.  A  personal  being 
maj  maki  asa  rtions  about  tacts  that  lie  within  the 


11 

domain  of  philosophy,  and  these  assertions  may 
seem  to  conflict,  and  may  conflict,  with  evidence 
respecting  those  same  facts  derived  from  philosophy. 
But  in  such  a  case  man  is  not  left  to  the  alternative 
of  a  blind  faith  or  a  presumptuous  philosophy.  His 
reason  is  to  decide.  By  this  he  is  to  ascertain,  on 
the  one  side,  that  a  personal  being  has  spoken,  what 
he  has  said,  what  means  he  had  of  knowing  the 
truth,  and  what  confidence  is  to  be  placed  in  his 
character.  On  the  other  side,  he  is  to  inquire 
whether  he  knows  all  the  facts  and  their  relations, 
and  is  sure  of  his  inferences.  If,  after  this,  there 
shall  seem  to  be  a  conflict,  or  a  contradiction,  reason 
must  strike  the  balance,  and  say  whether,  under  the 
circumstances,  it  is  more  rational  to  put  confidence 
in  a  personal  being,  or  to  believe  in  facts  and  deduc- 
tions for  which  we  have  another  species  of  evidence. 
Reason  recognizes  both  these  grounds  of  belief; 
and  she,  and  she  only,  can  decide  in  cases  of  appar- 
ent conflict  between  them. 

Having  thus  considered  the  relations  of  faith  and 
philosophy,  let  us  now  look  at  those  of  faith  and 
reason. 

It*is  strange  with  what  pertinacity  the  opponents 
of  Christianity  have  insisted  that  there  is,  and  must 
be,  a  conflict  between  these  ;  and  how  readily  many 
advocates  of  Christianity  have  assented  to  this  view. 
So  far  has  this  been  carried,  that  a  recent  and  much- 
lauded  article  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  is  entitled, 
"  Reason  and  Faith ;  their  claims  and  conflicts." 
But  such  conflict  is  by  no  means  to  be  admitted. 
There  is  just  as  much  opposition  between  reason 


,111.1  faith,  as  tin  re  is  between  reason  and  philoso- 
phy. ;iikI  DO  more 

[f  ml  reason  as  giving  us  only  intuitive 

;iikI  necessarj  troths,  then  it  will  act  equally  in  the 
domain  of  philosophy  and  of  faith,  and  there  can 
be  do  opposition  between  either  of  them  ;  unless, 
indeed,  a  personal  being  should  assert  an  absurdity. 
IJ:n  if,  as  is  more  common,  wc  regard  reason  as 
comprising  what  is  rational  in  man,  —  those  high 
attributes  by  which  he  is  distinguished  from  the 
brutes,  and  which  must  enter  into,  and  preside  over, 
every  legitimate  act  and  process  of  the  mind, — 
then,  the  sphere  of  feith  and  philosophy  being  dif- 
ferent, there  can  be  DO  conflict  between  reason  as 
employed  in  the  sphere  of  philosophy,  and  as  em- 
ployed in  the  sphere  of  faith.  Reason  presides  over 
both  spheres,  and  can  therefore  be  in  conflict  with 
neither.  The  only  possible  question  is,  whether  we 
ma\.  in  any  case,  just  as  rationally  reach  conclu- 
-iyns  and  grounds  of  action  by  that  process  which 
we  call  faith,  as  we  can  by  that  which  we  call  phi- 
losophy. But  on  this  point  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion. We  act  as  oecessarily  and  as  legitimately 
with  reference  to  pergonal  beings  by  faith,  as  we  do 
in  reference  to  things  by  a  belief  in  the  uniformity 
of  nature.  It  i-.  jn-t  as  rational  for  a  man  to  have 
confidence  in  the  character  and  consequently  in  the 
wind  of  a  personal  being,  as  it  is  for  him  to  believe 
in  the  facts  of  observation  or  experience  or  in  those 
forms  ami  systems  of  knowledge  deduced  from  these 
which  are  called  philosophy.  It  may,  perhaps,  be 
found  to  be  quite  as  reasonable  to  believe  a  fact  be- 
cause it  is  asserted  by   God,  as  to  believe  one  be- 


13 

cause  it  is  inferred  by  ourselves,  or  even  as  to  believe 
a  fact  made  known  to  us  by  those  senses  which  God 
has  given  us. 

Is  there  not  then  such  a  thing  as  faith  that  is  not 
in  accordance  with  reason  ?  Certainly,  just  as  there 
are  inferences  and  philosophies  that  are  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  reason,  and  perhaps  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  say  whether  there  has  been  more  folly  and 
absurdity  under  the  name  of  faith  or  of  philosophy. 
My  reason  tells  me  that  I  may  confide  in  the  facts 
given  me  by  my  senses,  that  I  may  classify  these, 
and  build  up  a  system  of  knowledge  which  we  call 
philosophy.  Under  this  impression,  men  have  built 
up  systems  of  philosophy  which  we  can  now  see 
were  exceedingly  irrational  and  foolish,  but  this  does 
not  show  that  there  is  any  conflict  between  reason 
and  philosophy  ;  but  only  that  reason  is  not  infallible 
in  this  department.  My  reason  also,  all  that  is 
rational  within  me,  tells  me  that  I  may,  and  ought, 
sometimes  to  confide  in  personal  beings,  and  that 
such  confidence  is  a  rational  and  sufficient  ground  of 
knowledge  and  of  action.  We  may,  indeed,  here 
repose  confidence  where  we  ought  not,  and  receive 
irrational  dogmas,  and  submit  to  useless  or  ridiculous 
rites ;  but  this  would  only  show  that  reason  is  not 
infallible  in  this  department. 

So  far  then  from  separating  faith  from  reason  and 
bringing  them  into  possible  and  actual  conflict,  we 
would  say  that  the  sphere  of  faith  is  one  of  the  two 
great  spheres  over  which  reason  presides,  and  that 
faith  itself  is  one  of  the  great  and  indispensable  meth- 
ods in  which  reason  is  manifested.  It  is  a  libel  upon 
religion  to  say  that  it  requires  a  blind  faith,   or  any 


14 

other  than  a  rational  faith,  of  thai  il  requires  us  to 
believe  ani  thing  which  it  is  not  more  rational  to 
believe  than  ii  would  be  t"  disbelieve  it  There  is 
do  tendency  in  faith  to  a  blind  belief.  It  docs  not 
say,  and  baa  no  tendencj  to  say,  'I  believe  because 
it  is  impossible.1  That  is  mere  Quixotism  and  folly. 
Faith  may,  indeed,  take  hold  of  the  hand  of  a  father, 
and  be  h  tiling  to  step  w  here  it  does  not  Bee;  but  then 
»li<-  i>  willing  thus  to  Btep,  onlj  because  she  has  a 
rational  -round  lor  believing  thai  her  father  will  lead 
ber  right  Ckristianitj  discards  and  repudiates  alto- 
gether,  am  faith  thai  can  come  into  conflict  with 
reason. 

This  view  of  faith  gives  it  a  definite  sphere,  it 
shows  distinctly  its  relations  both  to  philosophy  and 
to  reason,  and  removes  from  it  all  that  mysterious 
or  mystical  appearance  which  has  sometimes  been 
thrown  around  religious  faith.  As  an  exercise  of 
the  mind  it  is.  generically,  no  way  different  from 
th.it  t.»  which  we  are  constantly  accustomed.  When 
a  child  follows  implicitly  the  directions  of  its  father, 
when  a  client  puts  bis  case  into  the  hands  of  an  ad- 
vocate, there  is  an  element  in  the  act  that  is  different 
from  simple  belief,  it  is  an  element  that  puts  honor 
upon  the  father  and  the  advocate.  This  is  faith. 
Faith,  then,  genetically,  is  confidence  in  a  personal 
heiiiix.  Specifically,  religious  faith  is  confidence  in 
God,  in  everj  aspect  and  office  in  which  he  reveals 
himself.  As  thai  love  of  which  God  is  the  object, 
is  religious  love,  so  that  confidence  in  Him  as  a  Father, 
.1  Moral  Governor,  a  Redeemer,  a  Sanctifier,  in  all 
the  modes  of  his  manifestation,  by  which  we  believe 
whatever  he  says  because  he  says  it,  and  commit 


15 

ourselves  and  all  our  interests  cheerfully  and  entirely 
into  his  hands,  is  religious  faith.  Surely  there  is  in 
this,  nothing  irrational,  or  hard  to  be  understood. 

The  distinctive  element  of  faith,  then,  is  not  be- 
lief, but  it  is  that  perception  and  appreciation  of 
moral  character  upon  which  the  belief  is  based.  In- 
volved in  this  there  must  always  be  a  belief  of  the 
trustworthiness  of  the  object  of  our  faith.  Hence, 
if  faith  were  perfect,  it  would  involve,  not  merely  a 
belief  in  testimony,  but  an  obedience  like  that  of 
Abraham.  In  his  case  there  was  simply  a  com- 
mand, and  strictly  no  testimony  ;  yet  the  faith  was 
perfect. 

It  is  this  complex  nature  of  faith  that  has  caused 
the  confusion  respecting  it.  It  does  imply  a  move- 
ment of  both  the  rational  and  the  emotive  nature. 
In  this,  sometimes  the  one,  and  sometimes  the  other 
may  predominate,  but  it  is  never  due  either  to  the 
intellect  simply,  or  to  the  feelings  simply.  When 
outward  appearances,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham, 
are  opposed  to  the  dictates  of  faith,  it  will  be  an  af- 
fectionate confidence.  When  there  is  no  such  oppo- 
sition, it  will  be  a  confiding  affection  in  which  the 
confidence  may  seem  to  be  entirely  absorbed  and 
transfigured  into  love.  The  belief  involved  in  faith, 
is  based  on  those  very  qualities  which  necessarily 
call  forth  emotion  or  affection ;  and  hence,  in  this 
act,  the  two  are  fused  and  inseparably  blended. 
Hence  too  the  moral  element  in  faith,  which  is  not 
necessarilv  in  mere  belief,  and  hence  its  power  as  a 
principle  of  action.  Nor  is  there  any  thing  strange 
or  anomalous  in  this.  Pity  is  a  complex  act,  consist- 
ing of  sympathy  for  distress  and  a  desire  to  relieve 


16 

it.  These  maj  exist  in  different  proportions,  but  it 
either  be  wanting  there  is  do  pitj  ;  and  yet  no  one 
finds  .in\  difficult}  in  understanding  what  pity  is. 

Having  thus  considered  the  nature  of  faith,  we 
now  proceed  t<>  its  offices. 

Of  faith  in  general,  the  great  office  is  to  underlie 
all  the  social  intercourse  of  persona]  beings.  It  is 
to  this  higher  and  distinct  sphere  of  personal  inter- 
course, \\  li  it  a  belief  in  the  uniformity  of  nature  is  in 

our    interc >•■    With    nature.      Without    confidence 

society  is  impossible.  It  is  the  great  element  and 
condition  of  social  prosperity  and  happiness.  Uni- 
\<  rsallj  it  will  hr  found  that  all  the  ends  of  society 
arc  reached,  in  proportion  aa  there  is  mutual  confi- 
dence between  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and 
children,  rulers  and  subjects,  buyers  and  sellers, 
friend^  and  neighbors.  Remove  hut  the  sinjrle  ele- 
incut  of  distrust,  and  who  does  not  see  that  the 
Lire.it  cause  cf  human  wretchedness  would  he  taken 
away.  Let  but  the  one  element  of  a  general  and 
perfect  confidence  he  poured  into  the  now  heaving 
mass  of  human  society,  and  its  agitations  would 
BUbside,  and  it  would  he  at  once  aggregated  and 
crystalized  into  it>  most  perfect  forms.  In  connec- 
tion with  this,  everj  form  of  human  attachment 
would  strike  deep  root,  even  mutual  affinity  would 
have  free  play,  and  every  capacity  of  man  for  happi- 
ness from  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men  would  be 

filled. 

Of  the  more  specific  offices  of  religious  faith  we 
will  fust  consider  that,  so  much  insisted  on  in  the 
Scriptures,  bj  w  Inch  it  accepts  a  gratuitous  salvation. 


17 

From  the  nature  of  faith  as  now  stated,  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  its  relation  to  such  a  salvation  is  a  necessary 
and  not  an  arbitrary  one.  To  be  accepted,  a  gift 
must  first  be  appreciated,  and  desired  as  a  gift. 
This,  in  the  case  of  salvation  from  sin,  involves  re- 
pentance. And  then  there  must  be  full  confidence 
in  the  sincerity  of  him  who  offers  the  gift.  This  is 
faith,  and,  the  gift  being  desired,  there  can  be  a  com- 
pletion of  the  confidence  only  in  its  acceptance.  In 
this  view  of  it  faith  is  not  that  in  consequence  of 
which  we  receive  the  salvation,  as  if  the  faith  exist- 
ed first  and  accepted  the  salvation  afterwards,  but 
faith  is  the  very  act  of  confidence  by  which  the  sal- 
vation is  accepted.  It  is  a  confidence  which  can 
become  complete  only  as  it  accepts  the  offer,  because 
it  is  only  as  He  makes  the  offer  that  the  Saviour 
offers  himself  to  our  confidence.  Faith  then,  in  its 
relation  to  salvation,  is  that  confidence  by  which  we 
accept  it  as  a  free  gift  from  the  Saviour,  and  is  the 
only  possible  way  in  which  this  gift  of  God  could 
be  appropriated.  How  simple  !  how  rational !  how 
strange  it  should  fail  to  be  understood ! 

A  second  office  of  religious  faith,  as  stated  in  the 
Scriptures,  is  to  unite  man  to  God,  and  in  so  doing, 
to  give  him  power  with  God.  To  this,  faith,  as 
now  explained,  is  perfectly  adapted.  As  our  rela- 
tions to  God  are  so  numerous  and  intimate,  and  as 
confidence  in  him  can  be  based  only  on  a  perception 
of  those  perfect  attributes  which  would  call  out  the 
highest  affection,  it  must  be  an  affectionate  confi- 
dence. But  it  is  only  by  an  affectionate  confidence 
that  such  a  being  as  man  can  be  united  to  God,  or. 


18 

indeed,  that  am  one  moral  being  can  be  united  to 
another.      Let  tin-  exist  and  e\ei\  thing  in  the  rela- 

tionsof  the  two  beings  must  be  pleasant,  the  relation 

its.li'  will  he  the  ground  of  the  highesl  satisfaction 
which  onr  nature  cm  know,  and  will  lie  at  the  foun- 
dation of  a  higher  and  aobler  idea  of  being  and  of 
order  than  air.  other.  What  is  the  idea  of  myriads 
oi  orbs  circling  in  harmonj  together,  compared  with 
tli.it  of  myriads  of  intelligent  and  moral  beings 
united  to  God  and  to  each  other  in  a  mutual  and 
affectionate  confidence?  Here  we  find  the  true  end 
oi'  this  universe — an  order  of  which  all  other  order 
i>  hut  the  symbol. 

And  while  faith  thus  unites  us  to  God,  it  is  natural 
and  rational  to  suppose  that  it  should  ha\e  the  great 

power  ascribed  to  it  in  the  Scriptures*  It  i.s  one  of 
the  strongest  impulses  and  principles  of  a  rightly 
constituted  nature  never  to  disappoint  any  confidence 
that  is  jnstl\  reposed  in  it.  This  seems  to  be  even 
the  instinct  of  a  generous  nature  without  reference  to 
principle*  Who  is  there  that  would  not  protect  a 
dove  that  should  come  and  nestle  in  his  bosom? 
An  appeal  b\  innocence.  h\  helplessness,  by  distress, 
in  which  the  individual  abandons  himself  with  entire 
confidence  to  its,  is  one  of  the  strongest  that  can  be 
made  to  our  nature,  and  will  often  be  met  by  the 
greatest  sacrifices,  not  onl\  by  individuals,  but  by 
whole  nations.  L,t  Kossuth  escape  and  come  to 
this  country,  and  confide  himself  to  our  protection, 
and  let  him  he  pursued  by  the  combined  power  of 
Knssi;i  and  of  Austria,  yea  by  the  power  of  the 
world,  and  the  nation  would  rise  as  one  man,  would 
form   a   living   wall    around    him,    and    he    would 


19 

be  taken  only  as  his  pursuers  should  pass  over  the 
dead  bodies  of  those  who  would  stand  in  his  defence. 
Shall  men  do  thus,  and   shall  not  God  defend  those 
who  come  to  put  their  trust  under  the  shadow  of  his 
wings  ?     Shall  any  innocent  creature  of  God  that  is 
in  distress  come  to  him  and  confide  in  him,  and  shall 
not  the  resources  of  Omnipotence  be  held  ready  for 
his  deliverance  ?     Shall  any  guilty  creature  of  God, 
however  debased  and  wretched,  yea  though  he  were 
dyed  and  steeped   in  sin,   come  to  him  with  a  confi- 
dence authorized  by  the  death   of  Christ,   and  cast 
himself  upon  him  for  pardon  and  adoption,  and  shall 
he  not  be  received  even  as  the  prodigal  son  ?     Shall 
any   servant  of    God,   in  this  world  of  conflict,   be 
hardly  beset,   and,   feeling    that   his    own    strength 
is  weakness,   look  up  to  God   with  an  eye  of  filial 
confidence,  and  shall  he  not  send  him  succor?     Shall 
his   servants   say,  in  the  very  face   of  the   flames, 
"  Our  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  us  from 
the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and   he  will  deliver  us,  O 
king,"  and  shall  he  not   deliver   them  ?     What   are 
the  laws  of  nature  in  a  case  like  this  ?     They  are 
but  as  a  technicality  compared  with   a  mighty  prin- 
ciple.    One   glance   of  a   confiding   eye  is  mightier 
than  all  the  laws  of  nature.     Heaven  and  earth  may 
pass  away,  but  not  a  hair  of  him  who  puts  confi- 
dence in  God  shall  "  fall  to  the  earth."     Sooner,  far 
sooner,  would   God  sweep   this  material  framework, 
with  all  its  laws,  into  utter  annihilation,   than  he 
would  disappoint  the  authorized  confidence  of  the 
most  inconsiderable  of  his  creatures.     How  different 
is  this  universe  when  thus  viewed  by  the   light  of 
faith  in  its  relation  to  a  controlling  personal  being, 


n 

a  Father,  and  a  Friend:  and  when  viewed  in  the 
light  of  philosophy,  as  mere  nature — as  an  unvarying, 
tindiscriminating,  crashing  uniformity  ! 

The  third  office  <>f  religious  faith  is  to  be  a  prin- 
ciple  of  action.  And  if  there  be  any  one  tiling  which 
.1  \ . .iiiiii  man  about  i<>  enter  upon  life  ought  to  con- 
sider thoroughly,  it  is  his  principles  of  action;  Upon 
these  his  own  character,  and  that  of  his  enterprises 
u  ill  depend.  ^.8  you,  m\  friend-,  adopt,  from  this 
time,  right  principles  of  action,  bo,  and  so  only  will 
\oii  promote  rour  true  usefulness,  and  permanent 
good. 

But  certain  it  is,  referring  to  the  distinction  al- 
ready made,  that  the  highest  principles  of  action 
cannot  he  found  io  the  sphere  of  things.  Thestudy 
of  these  maj  train  the  intellect,  and  make  men  mere 
philosophers;  the}  m.u  awaken  the  desire  to  possess 
them  as  property  and  make  men  misers;  they  may 
call  forth  the  emotions  of  beauty  and  sublimity;  and 
that  is  all.  Tin  re  is  here  no  confidence,  no  affection, 
bo  sympathy.  But  bring  man.  now,  into  intercourse 
with  free,  personal  and  moral  beings,  and  every  high 
faculty  of  his  nature  will  come  into  play.  The  in- 
tellect, and  the  heart,  and  the  moral  nature  will  act 
tog  ther  and  strengthen  each  other.  And  as  the 
basis  of  all  such  intercourse  must  be  faith,  so  the 
basis  of  all  intercourse  with  God  must  be  religious 
faith. 

Ai  a  principle  of  action,  religious  faith  is  con- 
trasted  with  those  adopted  by  the  heroes  of  this 
world,  because  it  tends  to  form  a  complete  character. 
Recognizing  an  omnipresent  and  omniscient  God,  it 
acts  equally  at  all  times,  and  bears  as  well  upon  the 


21 

minute,  as  upon  the  greater  actions  of  life.  Minute 
actions  and  details  must  make  up  the  whole  life  of 
most  men,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  life  of  all 
men  ;  and  what  we  need  above  all  things,  is  a  prin- 
ciple of  action  that  shall  embrace  all  acts  equally,  as 
the  law  of  gravitation  embraces  the  atom  and  the 
planet,  and  that  may  dignify  the  smallest  act  by  the 
principle  from  which  it  proceeds.  Such  a  principle 
is  religious  faith ;  and  nothing  but  this  can  carry  the 
life-blood  of  principle  into  those  minuter  portions  of 
human  conduct  on  which  our  happiness  here  chietfy 
depends.  This  would  attune  the  chords  of  domestic 
life  and  make  them  discourse  sweet  music ;  it  would 
substitute  the  freshness  of  sincerity,  and  the  flush  of 
benevolence,  for  the  paint  and  frigidity  of  a  false  and 
conventional  politeness.  Carrying  out  such  a  prin- 
ciple, an  individual  may  be  truly  great,  however 
humble  his  sphere  ;  and  this  greatness  will  bear  the 
test,  and  grow  as  it  is  examined  ;  while  that  which 
takes  human  opinion  as  its  standard  and  reward, 
dwindles  and  becomes  contemptible  the  more  it  is 
known.  This  latter  cultivates  the  art  of  conceal- 
ment ;  it  is  great,  and  generous,  and  kind,  in  public, 
and  mean,  and  selfish,  and  unamiable,  at  home. 
Long  enough  has  the  world  been  filled  with  pre- 
tences, and  shows,  and  fair  seemings,  and  whited 
sepulchres  ;  but  the  remedy  for  these  is  to  be  found, 
not  in  any  ridicule  or  denunciation  of  hypocrisy,  nor 
in  any  splenetic  or  contemptuous  decrial  of  '  shams,' 
but  only  in  the  cultivation  of  a  true  religious  faith. 
This  will  be  the  more  obvious  if  we  notice  a 
second,  and  grand  peculiarity  of  religious  faith, 
which  is,  that  it  can  work  only  in  harmony  with  the 


22 

moral  nature.  No  man  can  expect  to  be  aided  or 
sustained  l>\  God,  when  be  is  doing  any  thing  which 
he  is  conscious  is  no!  well  pleasing  to  him.  Confi- 
dence  in  God  must  implj  a  constant  endeavor  to 
know  his  will,  and  must  hence,  quicken  the  con- 
science, and.  as  the  Scriptures  express  it,  purify  the 
hi'. in.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  essential  con- 
nection  between  faith  and  love,  and  it  is  bj  its  inti- 
m. ite  alii, nice  with  conscience  on  the  one  hand,  and 
love  on  the  other,  that  religious  faith  is  capable  of 
becoming  .1  principle  of  action  so  ennobling  and 
bo  mighty.  It  is  rational  and  intelligent  as  recog- 
nizing,  sometimes  the  plans  of  God,  and  always  the 
grounds  of  trust  in  Him;  it  quickens  the  conscience 
as  necessarily  adopting  the  law  of  God  lor  its  rule 
of  action  ;  and  it  gives  lull  play  to  the  affections,  by 
drawing  its  \crv  life  from  the  holy  and  infinitely 
ami  able  character  of  God.  Thus,  he  who  is  actu- 
ated b\  this  principle  must  have  the  strength  that 
comes  from  the  consciousness  of  acting  rationally, 
from  peace  with  God,  and  peace  of  conscience. 
Thus  has  it  everj  (lenient  that  can  be  needed  to  sus- 
tain great  and  heroic  action.  Let  a  man  feel  that 
he  is  in  sympathy  with  God  in  the  object  of  his  pur- 
suit, that  God  approves  the  means  he  adopts,  and  let 
him  have  a  filial  confidence  in  him,  and  what  deed 
of  a  true  heroism  is  there,  whether  of  action  or  of 
suffering,  which  lie  maj  not  perform  ?  Thus  moved 
and  sustained,  is  it  any  wonder  that  they  of  old 
"subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained 
promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out 
of  weakness   were   made  strong,  waxed   valiant  in 


23 

fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens  "  ? 
And  what  this  principle  was  of  old,  it  is  now.  The 
same  God  is  above  us,  and  his  response  to  any  con- 
fidence reposed  in  Him  will  not  be  less  full.  This 
only  can  support  the  martyr,  the  moral  hero,  the 
hero  of  meekness,  and  righteousness,  and  love  uncon- 
querable. This  only  can  lead  men  to  originate  and 
sustain  those  great  moral  enterprises,  on  the  success 
of  which  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  world  must 
ultimately  turn.  It  cannot  be  that  man  should  set 
himself  fully  against  the  wickedness  of  his  own 
heart,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  world  around  him, 
and  resist  the  allurements  of  temptation,  and  defy 
the  powers  of  nature  wielded  by  persecution,  and 
endure  to  the  end,  and  overcome,  except  as  "  seeing 
him  who  is  invisible."  "  This  is  the  victory  that 
overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith."  Only  this 
can  enable  the  true  missionary  to  forsake  country 
and  friends,  and  devote  his  life,  in  a  heathen  land, 
to  the  good  of  those  whom  he  knows  but  as  redeemed 
by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  only  this  can  sustain  him  in 
attacking  forms  of  sin  that  seem  as  ancient  and 
firm  as  the  hills  ;  this  alone  can  enable  him  to  labor 
on  till  death,  and  die  in  hope,  while  yet  the  dark- 
ness of  midnight  lies  upon  the  mountains.  Such 
a  faith  has  nothing  to  do  with  nature.  She  comes 
down  from  above  into  the  sphere  of  nature,  she  con- 
templates objects  of  which  nature  knows  nothing, 
and  when  she  acts  rationally  with  reference  to  these 
objects — to  a  kingdom  and  laws  that  are  above  na- 
ture— nature  says  she  is  mad.  She  is  not  mad  ; — the 
might  of  the  universe  is  with  her  ;  God  is  with  her ; 
eternity  shall  vindicate  her.     This,  not  money,  not 


24 

machinery,  or  confidence  in  them,  but  this  it  is  that 
the  church  needs.  Let  her  come  directly  to  God  in 
the  strength  of  .1  perfect  weakness,  in  the  power  of 
a  felt  helplessness  and   a  child-like  confidence,  and 

then,  either  she  has  no  strength,  and  lias  no  right  to 
be,  01  she  has  a  strength  thai  is  infinite.  'Then,  and 
thus,  will  she  stretch  out  the  rod  over  the  seas  of 
difficulty  that  lie  before  her,  and  the  waters  shall  di- 
\  ill.-,  and  she  Bhall  pass  through,  and  sing  the  song 
of  deliverance. 

From  the  new  of  faith  now  taken,  it  is  easy  to 
see  tliit  everj  system  of  negations,  and  distrust, 
,md  skepticism,  must  tend  to  lower  the  tone  of 
human  action  and  enjoyment,  and  must  be  uncon- 
genial to  our  nature.  Such  s\stems  may  be  useful 
in  pulling  down  error,  hut  have  no  constructive 
power.  Their  effecl  must  he  like  that  of  with- 
drawing tlic  vital  element  from  the  air;  and  not 
in  n<-  certainly  will  languor  and  feebleness  creep 
over  tin'  physical  sxstein  in  one  ease,  than  over  the 
spiritual  in  the  other.  There  can  be  no  robust  and 
healthj  life,  either  social  or  spiritual,  without  a 
strong  faith. 

Lit  mr  then  fust  counsel  you,  my  friends,  to 
place  a  generous  confidence  in  your  fellow  men. 
Not  that  you  should  he  weak,  or  credulous,  but,  if 
you  must  en  at  ill.  lei  it  he  on  the  side  of  confi- 
dence, lor  \011r  own  >akrs  repress  the  first  risings 
of  .1  suspicious  and  distrustful  temper.  It  will  un- 
string  the  nerves  of  your  energy,  and  corrode  your 
very  heart  Far  from  you  be  that  form  of  conceit 
which  attributes  to  itself  shrew  dness  and  wisdom  by 
always  suspecting  evil.     Far  sooner  would  I  make  it 


25 

a  part  of  my  philosophy  and  plan,  to  be  imposed 
upon  and  cheated,  up  to  a  certain  point.  Let  not 
even  intercourse  with  the  world,  and  the  caution  of 
age,  congeal  the  spring  of  your  confidence  and  sym- 
pathy. So  doing,  you  may  find  much  that  you 
would  wish  otherwise,  some  you  may  find  that  will 
be  as  a  briar,  and  sharper  than  a  thorn-hedge,  breth- 
ren that  will  supplant,  and  neighbors  that  will  walk 
in  slanders  ;  but  you  will  also  find  answering  confi- 
dence, repose  for  the  soul,  green  spots,  and  fountains 
in  the  desert. 

Let  me  also  warn  you  especially  against  all  those 
pantheistic  views,  virtually  atheistic,  which  are  set- 
ting in  upon  us  in  these  days  in  connection  with  cer- 
tain forms  of  a  transcendental  philosophy.  The 
great  result,  if  not  the  object  of  all  such  schemes,  is 
to  obscure  and  exclude  the  idea  of  personality  in 
God  ;  and  hence,  of  accountability  in  man.  It  is 
around  this  banner,  more  than  any  other,  that  the 
migratory  hordes  of  infidelity  are  gathering,  and  uni- 
ting against  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  These 
schemes  assume  the  garb  of  a  high  philosophy  ;  they 
put  on  the  sheep's  clothing  of  a  religious  phraseology. 
In  their  outward  aspect,  they  are  contemplative, 
reverent,  and  especially  philanthropic.  Their  advo- 
cates believe  in  God — but  then  all  things  are  God, 
and  in  the  working  of  all  things  hitherto,  nothing 
higher  than  man  has  been  produced.  They  believe 
in  inspiration — but  then  all  good  books  are  inspired. 
They  believe  in  Jesus  Christ — and  so  they  do  in 
Confucius,  and  Socrates,  and  Mohammed,  and  Lu- 
ther, and  in  all  earnest  and  heroic  men.     They  be- 


26 

lieve  in  progress — but  in  a  progress  which  neither 
BpringS  from,  nor  leads  t<»  mora]  order.  The\  make 
the  ideas  of  guilt  and  retribution  a  bugbear,  redemp- 
tion an  absurdity,  repentance  unnecessary,  and  faith 
impossible.  Making  Buch  pretensions  to  philosophy, 
and  giving  Buch  license  to  passion,  these  schemes 
have  great  attractions,  and  form  the  chief  speculative 
quicksands  \\  bich  the  currents  of  this  age  have  drifted 
up,  and  on  which  the  poung  are  in  danger  of  being 
wrecked.  They  merge  personality  into  laws,  the 
operations  of  a  wise  agent  into  necessary  uniformi- 
ties. The}  make  the  order  and  stability  of  God's 
works  testify,  not  to  his  wisdom  and  immutability, 
but  to  his  non-existence.  They  change  the  truth 
which  the  creatures  tlnis  tell,  into  a  lie,  and  say, 
"No  God.'"  Thusare  the  heavens  disrobed  of  their 
glory,  and  infinite  space  becomes  a  blank,  and  faith 
finds  no  object,  and  the  tendrils  of  affection  find  no 
oak,  and  human  life  is  without  a  providence,  and 
conscience  is  a  lie,  and  death  is  an  eternal  sleep. 
To  all  such  Bchemes,  and  their  abettors,  how  appro- 
priate and  overwhelming  are  the  reproof  and  the 
argument  framed  expressly  for  them  lon^  ago : 
"  Understand,  ye  brutish  among  the  people  ;  and  ye 
fools,  when  will  ye  be  wise  .-  j|r  that  planted  the 
.,11.  shall  he  not  hear;  He  that  formed  the  eye, 
shall  he  not  Bee?  He  that  chastiseth  the  heathen, 
shall  not  he  correct  :  !!«•  that  teacheth  man  knowl- 
edge, shall  not  lie  know  ?  " 

And  now.  m\  beloved  friends,  in  bringing  to  a 
close  mv  relations  to  you  as  an  Instructor,  what  can 
I  wish  better  for  you  personally,  or  for  the  world  in 
your  relations  to  it,  than  that  you  should  take  for 


27 

your  actuating  and  sustaining  principle,  faith  in  God. 
Without  this,  you  will  lack  the  highest  element  of 
happiness,  and  the  only  adequate  ground  of  support ; 
life  will  be  without  dignity,  and  death  without  hope. 
Only  by  faith  can  you  run  that  race  wrhich  is  set 
before  you,  as  before  those  of  old.     In  this  world 
your  courses  may  be  different ;  you  will  choose  dif- 
ferent professions,  and  diverge  widely  in  your  lines 
of  life.     To   some  of  you,   the   race   here   may  be 
brief.     One  whom  I  addressed  the  last  year,  as  I  do 
you  to-day,   now   sleeps   in   death.     But  whatever 
this  may  be,  and  whether  longer  or  shorter,   before 
you  all  there  is  set  the  same  race  under  the  moral 
government  of  God  ;  to  you  all  is  held  out  the  same 
prize.     Why  should  you  not  run  this  race  ?     Never 
was  there  a  time,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  when 
moral  heroes  were  more  needed.     The  world  waits 
for  such.     The  providence  of  God  has  commanded 
science  to  labor  and  prepare  the  way  for  such.     For 
them  she  is  laying  her  iron  tracks,  and  stretching 
her  wires,  and  bridging  the  oceans.     But  where  are 
they  ?    Who  shall  breathe  into  our  civil  and  political 
relations  the  breath  of  a  higher  life  ?     Who  shall 
couch  the  eyes  of  a   paganized  science,  and  of  a 
pantheistic    philosophy,    that  they  may  see   God  ? 
Who  shall  consecrate,  to  the  glory  of  God,  the  tri- 
umphs of  science  ?     Who  shall  bear  the  life-boat  to 
the  stranded  and  perishing   nations  ?     Who  should 
do  these  things,  if  not  you — not  in  your  relations  to 
time  only,   but  to  eternity,  and  to  the  universe  of 
God  ? 

And  as  seen  in  the  light  of  faith,  what  a  race  ! 
what  an  arena  !  what  a  prize  ! 


28 

Faith  places  us  under  the  inspection  and  care  of 
the  eternal  and  omnipresent  ( iod,  and  accepts  of  him 
as  a  Father,  a  Redeemer,  a  Sanctiher,  and  Portion. 
She  enthrones  Him  above  all  laws,  and  to  that 
utterance  which  she  hears  coming  as  the  voice  of 
in,iii\  if aters  from  around  the  throne,  saying,  The 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth,  she  says,  Amen. 
She  introduces  us  to  a  spiritual  family  of  our  own 
race,  and  of  superior  orders  of  beings,  before  whose 
Bombers  and  capacities  the  imagination  falters. 
Sin-  accepts  the  suggestions  of  analogy,  that  the 
moral  and  spiritual  universe  is  commensurate  with 
that  physical  universe  which  night  reveals,  the  out- 
skirt^  of  which  no  telescope  can  reach  ;  and  for  the 
unfolding  and  sweep  of  a  government  embracing 
such  an  extent,  she  has  an  eternit\.  Such  is  the 
scene  in  the  midst  <>l  which  this  race  is  to  be  run. 
What  is  the  prize  ?  It  is  likeness  to  God — sonship 
— the  inheritance  of  all  things  to  be  enjoyed  forever. 
That  such  a  prize  might  he  offered,  Christ  died  ; 
th.it  it  may  !><•  striven  tor.  as  the  one  thing  needful, 
the  Holy  Spirit  pleads.  Gird  yourselves,  then,  for 
this  race;  run  it  with  patience,  "looking  unto 
Jesus.'3  The  world  may  not  notice,  or  know  you; 
for  it  knew  Him  not.  It  mu\  persecute  you,  for  it 
persecuted  Him;  but  in  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  ever- 
lasting strength.  He  will  be  with  you;  He  will 
sustain  you  : — the  great  cloud  of  witnesses  will  en- 
compasa  you  :  they  will  wait  to  hail  you  with  accla- 
mation .is  you  skill  reach  the  goal,  and  receive  the 
prize.  That  goal  max  you  all  reach,— that  prize 
may  you  all  receive. 


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